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The Association of Iroquois and Allied Indians Chiefs Council has reached a consensus on the implications of Canada’s Recognition and Implementation of Rights Framework, calling the proposed legislation a threat to the inherent rights of First Nations.
The AIAI will now advocate to chiefs to reject the framework.
“The Framework is not about reconciliation,” said A.I.A.I. Deputy Grand Chief Gordon Peters. “The Feds have failed First Nations in their duty to protect their lands and resources while continuing to reap benefits. Canada must end their oppressive actions.”
The A.I.A.I. reached its position on the Framework after presentations provided on the content and potential impacts of the initiative and on an alternative approach for moving forward.
The Rights Framework, as guided by the Liberal government’s Ten Principles document, continues to emphasize the supremacy of the Canadian constitutional framework and constrains the possibilities for self-determination among First Nations, reads a press statement from A.I.A.I.
This process as A.I.A.I. sees it undermine the principles of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and sidelines questions of Aboriginal title, consent, treaty obligations, land rights, and access to natural resources.
"Canada's Framework for Rights Recognition is not reflective of what a true nation to nation relationship looks like,” said Grand Chief Joel Abram. “Instead it encourages self-subjugation within the constraints of Canadian law, in exchange for money. Despite all the rhetoric of reconciliation, this is nothing more than the old 'extinguishment' policy in sheep's clothing, and yet another attempt to solve the 'Indian problem'."